Cement-molding apparatus



C. F. RUBY.

CEMENT MOLDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24,1919.

1 ,836,539, Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

ATTORNEY CHARLES F. RUBY, OE SHAR NEE, OKLAHOMA.

CEMENT-IEQLDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Application filed June 24, 1919; Serial No. 306,361.

To (all whom it may come/a.-

Be it known that l, Ci-mnnns F. RUBY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident oi? Shawnee, Oklahoma, have invented new and useful improvements in Cement-Molding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. 7

My invention relates to improvements in molds and accessories especially for casting taper concrete units and has for its object to provide a complete self contained and semi-automatic plant for the production of reinforced :tence posts, silo staves (taper form), of large building units or the continuous air space variety, etc, all of which should for best resultsbe traversed longitudinally by steel reinforcements. Another object is to maintain a steady stream of slush aggregate automatically from a central mixer to a very large number of molds, located equal distances from said mixer, and to provide means for supplying said mixer automatically with the materials which. are con ained in hopper bins surrounding said mixer, thus procucing a plant that will save considerable labor and energy. Still an other object is to provide means for holding a supply of reinforcing wires or rods in the most suitable and convenient way, being arranged adjustably for alinement with the perforations contained in all the mold compartments through which said wires have to pass.

With the above mentioned objects in view, the invention consists in detail of the various elements in cooperation which are hereafter more fully set forth, described and claimed.

Tn describing the details of the invention and other parts, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of the specifications wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which drawings- Figure 1, is a diagrammatic view, vertically through the center of the circular, feeding, misting and casting apparatus.

Fig. 2, is a top view of the element which feeds the unmixed aggregate to the mixer.

Fig. 3, is a top view of the centrifugal disk, the main working element in the mixer.

Fig. i, is a small section of the top view of the annular mold bed, containing radial compartments.

Fig. 5, is the hose connection which feeds the water to the mixer.

Full details and modifications of invenment are shown, described and claimed in another application for Letters Patent, agg gate tecding device, Serial Number J In Fig. 1, 1 is the annular mold bed. Several views and turther details of this invention are shown, described and claimed in an number of which is 88,430, filed April 7, 1: ,9, g ng molds for casting posts of cement concrete, wherein the annular form and the slope of the bottoms of said radial compartments and other inventions are clearly shown and described.

application, show several modifications of th radial mold compartments, the external torm or which, as seen in the side views, cortaper bottom being elevated toward the small end. Such mold units are required for castings, that are taper on all four sides,

on two sides only the bottom will be parallel to the top of the mold compartment. In if 1g. 42 has iour gradually diminishing produce in the adjoining compartment 2 a taper block of the continuous air space variety. The bottom of 2 is parallel to the considerably thicker toward the small end and they are corrugated from about the middle toward the smaller end. These cordepressions in the fence posts that are cast 111 these mold compartments, of preventing iosts. The line wires, or horizontal wires in wire iabric being held in the depressions 3, 4i, 5, 6 1n the drawlngs are ring shaped elevatrons preferably made of heavy sheet steel, rlng 6 resting upon a recess in the mner contain the pertorations and means for holdmg the wlres and also represent the small ends ot the mold compartments of the vaimposed upon each other during the process of filhng the successive tiers of mold compartments 1n order so as to have the tops tions in this mixing and feeding arrangei l 99l, tiled August 2, 1919.

application for Le ters Patent the serial of the mold bed, the radial compartments The drawings accompanying this present respond to a right angled parallelogram, the

while in such castings as require to be taper cores B attached to the outside. This will top. In 9* in the drawing the bottoms are rugations are for the purpose of providing .ie tie wires from slipping up or down the of these corrugations by said tie wires.

edge or". the annular mold bed. These rings rious tiers. These ring elevations are super of the various tiers tree of obstructions.

Other means may be employed to the same result. The arrangement of preventing any obstructions above the mold compartments.

will make it handier to manipulate the leveling and finishing tools. 7, 7 8, 8 are the perforations and pins, the former serving to admit the wires through the mold compartments, the latter to fasten the same and hold them taut in position during the process of filling the molds. The hundreds of perforations and pins actually contained in this ring elevation are omitted in the drawing for obvious reasons. 9 is a central foundation, preferably of cement concrete, it holds shaft 10 in vertical position. This shaft 10 is the true center of the radial mold compartments. It serves to hold reel 12 in position, which reel is held in alinement with the various tiers of mold compartments by the collar 11, which latter is held in place by a set screw. A long arm may be revolubly supported by this shaft for the purpose of holding various cement tools or tampers, for various finishes of the castings contained in the mold compartments. Shaft 10 also serves to hold up the sliding delivery tube 21, by the rod 35 which rests in a socket in the upper end of said shaft 10, the other end of said rod is inserted in a socket in the lower end of the elbow of the delivery tube 21. F or raising and lowering device in place of rod 35, of which latter a number of different lengths would be required, to correspond with the number and height of the tiers of mold compartments on bed 1, the lower end of shaft 10 may be threaded and a threaded socket be embedded in foundation 9, but one red need be used then. The central foundation 9 also supports a circular mold support 40, upon which mold compartments of greater taper, such as are used for arch stones, may be placed. The supply of aggregate for these later mentioned compartments is taken from a vertical central tube, attached to funnel casing 25, in place of the elbow tube 21, and may be discharged over reel 12 by placing a protecting sheet metal cover over same. This tube 21 delivers the mixed aggregate to the mold compartments upon bed 1. 1 1 is the funnel casing of the concrete mixer. 23 is the top for the same. This last member as shown in Fig. 2 has a plurality of openings 15 through it, which openings are spaced equal distances from each other. The unmixed aggregate gathered by collector 16, drops through openings 15 upon a centrifugal plate 19, which is attached to a hollow shaft 18, and which plate and shaft rotate considerably faster than collector 16, the latter is attached to the lower end of a hollow shaft 32 surrounding shaft 18 and being also the bearing for the latter.

The aggregate, such as sand, gravel or fine screenings are deposited in spiral very thin layers upon each other, followed immediately by the centrifugal action, splashing the nearly mixed aggregate against the side of the funnel casing 14, the mixed aggregate then being conveyed through funnel and tube to the mold compartments. Hollow shaft 18 conveys the water for the aggregate to the centrifugal plate, through perforations 20, the lower end of this tube is closed. 27 and 22 are pulleys, which are connected with some motive power. The motor may be located either in a small compartment in one of the hopper bins or if an electric motor, in the central space above the mixer, it must be properly partitioned off to prevent dust from reaching it. The power may be transmitted either by pulley and belt or by shaft and gearing. A supply of water of constant pressure is connected to shaft 18, by a pipe 37, and hose 38. It has valve 39 inserted for adjusting quantity of flow. The end of the pipe 37 is bent at right angles, the end of which is simply inserted into the. top of tube 13. 33 is a bearing casting for the rotating part of the mixer. It is held in position by the tubular inner partition 31 of the central space between the radial hopper compartments or 1 ins, A A A i 30 are members of the building structure, they serve to carry the hopper bins above the mold beds. These steel girders are trussed with the roof girders into a skeleton upon which are fastened the walls of the hopper bins. This steel skeleton forming the main structural element of the upper part of a circular two story building.

In operating this plant, I connect the pul-' leys of the hollow shafts or their equivalents to some suitable power, the inner shaft being rotated about six or eight times the speed of the outer, so as to induce centrifugal action through plate 19 upon the aggregate, the hopper bin being filled respectively with dry sand, gravel and cement, and the water valve having been opened to the re quired degree, the mixed aggregate will issue from the tube 21 upon the starting of the motor. These operations are, of course, preceded by the wiring of the mold compart ments, the selecting and mixing of the aggregate is automatic.

In the hopper bin arrangement, as shown in the drawing, with four openings 15 through the top plate 23 and the division of the space surrounding the mixer into four radial compartments, a mixture of four parts of the various solid ingredients may be obtained and if a mixture of one part of cement and 3 of sand are required, then one hopper bin should be filled with cement and with sand. The hopper bins contain openings 24, through which the sand and cement will slide out past the collector, which latter will take along a limited quantity of the sand or cement every time it passes one of the openings, it will convey it along and drop it through the nearest opening 15 where it will fall upon the centrifugal plate, mingled with the mixing water and be splashed against the funnel casing during which operation it will be still further mixed. The circular plate 26 is for the limitation of the quantity of the aggregates taken along by the collector. It should further be mentioned that, when reinforcements consisting of straightened strands of wire cut to suitable lengths are desired, then the reel is discarded and a carrier of nearly the length of the wires is substituted, this carrier being revolubly attached at one end to the central shaft, the other end reaching nearly to the elevations, containing the perforations and carrying the pins, the wires protruding just enough beyond their carrier to be easily picked up by hand and conveyed through the perfora tions to be fastened. hen coiled wire is used, a commercial coil is placed upon reel 12, the rod 35 being lifted out of the lower socket temporarily to admit same. The taper in the reel will allow of the use of a greater variation in the diameters of the coils.

In placing such continuous wires or wire strands into the mold compartments, the wire is simply unraveled to the extent necessary, the reel easily rotating upon its support. It is first inserted through one of the perforations in the ring elevation then through the corresponding perforation in the outer end of the mold compartment where the end of the wire is fastened around the pin in said compartment; the wire is then pulled taut and fastened around the corresponding pin in the ring elevation and closely cut, this performance being repeated until all necessary reinforcements are placed.

The accumulating mixed aggregate issuing from the delivery tube must then be worked into all the corners of the mold compartments in the usual way, the top smoothened and the delivery tube pushed forward to reach more unfilled compartments until the entire tier of mold compartments is filled. A thin layer of tar paper or preferably of paraffin paper is then laid above the filled molds to prevent any leakage through the upper tiers to damage the top of the lower tiers. I then place empty mold compartments upon and exactly in vertical line with those of the lower tier, adjust the wire holding device to the proper height, adjust the inner ring elevation to the proper height and fill the compartments and repeat the performances until the desired number of tiers of compartments are filled. The mold sections containing the soft castings may in very short time be detached, placed upon trucks and taken to the curing rooms for further hardening. It is obvious that a small segment of the annular mold bed may be omitted for easy entrance and exit to and from the central space of such mold bed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a cement products plant, the combination of radially arranged series molds and a centrally located mixing device substan tially as described.

2. The combination of a radial arrange ment of series molds a central revoluble delivery device and a central mixer.

3. I11 a cement products plant, an annular mold support radial compartments and means for conveying aggregate from a centrally located mixing device to said mold compartments.

4. In a cement products plant an annular mold support, radial mold compartments, means for supplying said mold compartments with aggregate from vertically above the center of said radial mold compartments, a central mixer and means for supplying said mixer from radially located hopper bins, with aggregates.

5. The combination of a circular mold support radial mold compartments, superimposing such compartments in tiers, means for conveying aggregates from a centrally located supply source to said mold compartments.

6. A. radial arrangement of series molds and a central support for a metallic reinforcing supply substantially as described.

7. The combination of the radial arrangement of series molds with the radial alinement of perforations through said molds and a central adjustable and revoluble support for a supply of reinforcing metal substantially as described.

S. The radial arrangement of the taper mold compartments, superimposing same in tiers and means for maintaining the tops of said mold compartments in the various tiers at level substantially as described.

9. The attachment of taper cores to the outside of radial mold compartments, said cores gradually diminishing in cross-section toward small end of said compartments to produce depressions 1n the neighboring molds as shown and descrlbed.

CHARLES F. RUBY.

\Vitnesses J. F. KERKER, A. B. JANET. 

